Tracking

February 2010

February 28, 2010

Scientific American reports that an iceberg the size of Luxembourg has broken off from a glacier in
Antarctica after being rammed by another giant iceberg. This could even affect ocean circulation patterns.

"The 2,500 sq km (965 sq mile) iceberg
broke off earlier this month from the Mertz Glacier's 160 km (100
miles) floating tongue of ice that sticks out into the Southern Ocean. The collision has since halved the
size of the tongue that drains ice from the vast East Antarctic ice
sheet". Follow the link to read the full article.

February 27, 2010

The Independent reports that the world's instrumental temperature record dating back more than 150 years is to be re-analysed.

"The proposal was put to the World Meteorological
Organisation by the Met Office at a meeting in Antalya, Turkey, earlier
this week, and accepted by 150 delegates from around the world. Its
detailed terms will be agreed at a conference to be held in Britain
later this year.

The plan is for the entire
global record of land-based air temperatures from 5,000 weather
stations, which began before 1860, to be made freely available to
anyone. It will then be reanalysed by at least three and possibly five
groups of experts, whose different methods will be made transparent and
open to scrutiny, and whose conclusions will be peer-reviewed.

The task is expected to take three years, and it is
likely that its findings will form a core part of the next IPCC report,
provisionally due in 2013 or 2014".

February 26, 2010

The Independent reports that Italian officialshave warned of an ecological disaster
as they try to contain an oil spill that reached the the Po river. "The WWF wildlife charity said several water and
bird species were at risk from the spill, with fish, wild ducks and
herons – that were beginning to nest along the Po – the most at risk.
Several oil-covered ducks have already been plucked from the river and
taken for treatment at a regional animal shelter. But even after the spill is cleaned up the impact will
last, the WWF said, as the Po river valley is the most important
agricultural region in Italy, and the Po is used extensively for
irrigation".Follow the link to read the full article.

February 25, 2010

The Environment Agency Chairman Lord Smith has been speaking at the annual UK National Farmers’ Union
(NFU) conference. His speech focused on water issues including the following key comments:

Demand for irrigation water alone is predicted to
rise by a quarter over the next decade as parts of central, southern and
eastern England and eastern parts of Wales receive increasingly less
rainfall.

On-farm reservoirs and harvesting rainwater from building
roofs are just two key ways farmers can gather water for use in drier
times.

“In adapting to climate change, farming can also
help us to manage water supply – this will be essential as we predict
demand for irrigation will increase by 25% over the next 10 years ... We will need to get better at storing water in
winter to use in the summer. I am pleased to say that we have already
been able to work with some groups of farmers, in East Anglia in
particular, to help them form co-operative Abstractor Groups and to
support the use of Regional Development Agency funding to provide more
water storage for irrigation.

”Where it is the most effective way, we will always
try to work with the farming community to identify solutions through
advice and voluntary means. We both have the same aim: safe and
profitable production to meet society’s needs from land that is in good
heart, whilst enhancing the environment.”

February 24, 2010

Over the last few weeks many areas of the world seem to be hit by heavy rain and landslides. My last blog post was about Madeira - now this problem has hit Indonesia. BBC News reports that up to 70 people are feared dead after being trapped under piles of mud when a landslide hit a village near the Indonesian city of Bandung. Heavy monsoon rains are hampering rescue efforts. Follow the linkt o find more.

February 22, 2010

The Independent reports that floods and mudslides have killed at least 32 people and left hundreds of others homeless on the Portuguese holiday island of Madeira. The violent rainstorm, which battered the island for several hours triggered flash flooding. Follow the link to read the full article.

February 20, 2010

BBC News reports that Bangladesh has developed a new smart card scheme for farmers designed to increase productivity and reduce fraud.

"Almost 20 million small or medium-sized farms in Bangladesh will eventually get the card, which will allow them to open bank accounts with just a few cents. It will allow the government to pay subsidies directly to them, cutting out middlemen and embezzlers. They currently siphon off a large proportion of the government's help. The first use of the card will be to distribute a $100m fuel subsidy. The cards will also contain information on the land the farmers have under cultivation, the crops they produce and the fertilisers they will need. "An interactive database of farmers has been prepared to run in conjunction with the scheme," said Agriculture Secretary Mustaq Ahmed, "which will help the government make detailed analysis of the inputs that farmers need. "We can then make efficient planning for agriculture, while farmers who have never been linked to the banks will become more money-literate once they start going to them. "They will then begin to take loans from banks - instead of rural moneylenders who charge high interest rates for farmers. It will also make farmers more aware of modern agriculture technologies."

February 19, 2010

Euractive.com have suggested that millions of people could starve if member states deliver on the EU’s target of sourcing 10% of its transport fuel from biofuels according to a new report from ActionAid.

"In December 2008, EU leaders reached agreement on a new Renewable Energy Directive, which requires each member state to satisfy 10% of its transport fuel needs from renewable sources, including biofuels, hydrogen and green electricity, by 2020.

However, concerns have been raised that increased biofuel production would result in massive deforestation and have severe implications for food security, as energy crops replace other land uses ... Currently made from maize, wheat, sugar cane and oil seeds such as palm oil, soy and rapeseed, industrial biofuels compete with crops grown for food, "driving food prices higher and affecting what and how much people eat in developing countries," notes the ActionAid report on the impact of industrial biofuels on global hunger.

"For every 1% rise in the price of food, 16 million more poor people are made hungry," it estimates.

According to ActionAid's evaluation, EU biofuel consumption will "jump nearly fourfold" by 2020, and two thirds of these biofuels will be imported mainly from the developing world, diverting food away from millions more people who need it most". Follow the link to read more. This article shows the huge contradictions with land use for food and fuel production.